Tutorial: Rita Hayworth Pin Curl Waves

Friday, May 18, 2012

My hair has finally grown long enough to try some Rita style waves. I used my Sculpture Pin Curler for this set but you can use manual pin curling as well. See yesterday's post about how to use the sculpture pin curler. This style works best on shoulder length or longer hair. My hair is cut in a femme fatale style, so it is layered and has that vintage "U" shape in the back.

My hair pin curls best on towel dried hair with lotta body setting lotion, so that's what I have to start with

Begin by parting your hair way off to the side. I used the arch of my brow as a guide for the part.

Work in rows from one side of your head to the next. I rolled the first row up. The front is sectioned into 2 rows of two curls, all rolled away from the face with this side section hanging down

this little section off to the side is rolled down.

Roll the rest of your hair in alternating layers. One layer rolled up, the next rolled down until all of your hair is pinned up.

I did this around 5 in the evening, slept in it all night and took it out the next morning for a brush out.

Brushing out a pin curl set is vital to the finished look. In the beginning of my pin curling days, I had no idea how to brush out a set so my hair looked very clown-like. This video is almost 15 minutes long but will show you exactly how I brush out this set. It really does take a long time to do but in the end, it looks fantastic. In the video, I share a few tips and tricks for how to de-frizz and how to sculpt your hair into waves.

Please pardon my mid-western "just" and "kinda". It's funny how you never realize how you speak until you hear yourself, right?

Va-Voom Vintage is not an affiliate of vintagehair.com. The Sculpture Pin Curler was provided in exchange for a review on this blog. All reviews and opinions presented on The Sculpture Pin Curler are my own.

Love it! This was really helpful because whenever I pincurl I always get one side that looks much better than the other. Now I realise I need to curl them up or down! Can I ask what the Hair Insurance actually is? I'm curious as to what the English alternative would be. xxxps. Your accent is so cute!

Oh, great question!! It's Aussie Hair Insurance, a leave-in conditioner and it comes in a regular spray bottle. I'm sure that any leave in conditioner would work fine if you're having problems with wild hair.

I had to do a double take there - I could have sworn they were both photos of Hayworth! Great job, lady! It is fab to know which way to roll things to get a decent effect. Thank you for taking the time to share :)

yes, it's such a long video but its good to show how exactly to do a brush out. Brushing is my least favorite part because its so exhausting (and painful when I pull it!) but the right brush out makes all the difference!! So glad you liked it, thank you!!! x

Wow! I do pin-curls pretty often, but I never thought about direction. That's great, you can make great waves if you set you curls in special way. Thank you, I will try this schema for my hair next time :)